The Philadelphia 76ers have been working hard without superstar big man Joel Embiid as they have won five of their first eight games without him, but they would obviously like to have him back.
Friday was a big step in the right direction as Embiid was a full participant in practice and he will be reassessed on Monday in hopes that he can return shortly. Considering that he not played since January 4, there is almost like a sigh of relief that he was able to get back out with his team and practice.
“It’s great, I’m just trying to get back into it,” said Embiid. “Just making the progress necessary, but it feels great.”
The big step that Embiid has to make is that he needs to learn how to play with the cast on his hand. He is going to have to continue to play with that and hope that things go well for him before he can return to the floor.
“I’m still getting used to it,” he explained. “From time to time during a game, you’re going to get slapped in the hand so just going through practice and going through those scenarios and seeing how it goes and also just getting back into it. I had a little bit of time off where I couldn’t do anything with the surgery so I was a little bit winded. I just need to get my conditioning back.”
Embiid working out against assistant coach Roy Hibbert after practice #Sixers pic.twitter.com/sPNd2fR02p
— Ky Carlin (@Ky_Carlin) January 24, 2020
He will miss the big matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday, but after his reassessment on Monday, there is hope that he can play against the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday.
“That was my first practice since this thing happened,” he added. “So it’s encouraging. I don’t know when I’m going to be back, we’re going to see how it goes. I’m going to keep getting my two-a-days every single day and try to get better.”
The Sixers would obviously like to have Embiid back out there on as quickly as possible, but in the bigger picture, it’s key to make sure that he is healthy and ready to go when the playoffs begin in April. That is always the big issue for him and he will take his time throughout this whole thing. [lawrence-related id=24131,24124,24110]